TechnoLawyer: TechnoFeature

Coming July 22, 2008 to TechnoFeature: De-duplication is a necessary but confusing concept in eDiscovery. Many vendors are quick to claim their expertise in de-duplicating a collection of email and electronic documents, but the results often disappoint. In this review, eDiscovery expert Brett Burney evaluates Equivio, which claims that its "near-duplicate" approach is much more efficient at culling down a document collection. How does this unique software work and what does Brett think about it? Read his comprehensive review to find out.

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Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

The American Bar Association (ABA) recently published Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell's book The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together. Jordan Furlong, Editor-in-Chief of The Canadian Bar Association's National Magazine, describes the book as "a thoughtful, comprehensive, strategic guide for 21st-century lawyers to understand and appreciate the significance of collaboration, and how it can be integrated into real-world legal practices." We also think it's terrific and a worthwhile investment. Thanks to the ABA and the authors, below you'll find a reprint of Chapter 17, which focuses on using Microsoft SharePoint as a collaboration tool. If you like this excerpt, you'll love the book, which you can order from the ABA.

Coming July 15, 2008 to TechnoFeature: The American Bar Association (ABA) recently published Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell's book The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together. Jordan Furlong, Editor-in-Chief of The Canadian Bar Association's National Magazine, describes the book as "a thoughtful, comprehensive, strategic guide for 21st-century lawyers to understand and appreciate the significance of collaboration, and how it can be integrated into real-world legal practices." We also think it's terrific and a worthwhile investment. Thanks to the ABA and the authors, below you'll find a reprint of Chapter 17, which focuses on using Microsoft SharePoint as a collaboration tool. If you like this excerpt, you'll love the book, which you can order from the ABA.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming July 8, 2008 to TechnoFeature: Ask a law firm about its technology agenda for 2008, and you'll hear a lot of "paperless this" and "scanning that." Believers say you just can't beat the efficiency of going digital, but how do you join the paperless crusade? By purchasing a scanner of course. In this article, legal technology consultant Christel Burris reviews the Canon ImageFORMULA DR-2510C Compact Color Scanner. Does the DR-2510C have everything your law firm needs in a scanner? Read Christel's comprehensive review to find out.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming June 24, 2008 to TechnoFeature: The paperless trend has almost every law firm looking for the perfect scanner. Here to help, attorney Bryan Sims reviews the ScanFront 220P — a network scanner from Canon. Bryan describes the different features, explains how he tested it in his practice, and offers some buying advice for large and small firms. Could the ScanFront 220P take your firm from papermore to paperless? Read Bryan's review to find out.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming June 17, 2008 to TechnoFeature: Billing is one of the most important tasks a lawyer performs — and perhaps the most tedious. Desktop software has made this activity easier, but does an even better solution exist? In this article, legal technology consultant Caren Schwartz reviews Bill4Time, a Web-based time-billing solution. With Bill4Time, lawyers can bill their time and expenses anywhere they can access the Internet. That's the promise, but how does it perform in practice? Read Caren's in-depth review to find out.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming June 10, 2008 to TechnoFeature: Does your firm follow the correct protocol when it comes to administering trust accounts? If you even have one lick of doubt, your firm could be at risk. In this article, consultant and trainer Beatriz Milia outlines the top ten reasons law firms need to maintain organized and accurate trust records. Do the words fine, lawsuit, disbarment, and jail send a shiver down your spine? Because ignorance of the law is no excuse, learn how these and other consequences can result from poor trust accounting practices. And more importantly, learn how to avoid them.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming June 3, 2008 to TechnoFeature: What can a law firm learn from an automotive manufacturer? A good deal, according to law firm management consultant and blogger Bruce MacEwen. In this article, Bruce discusses how the much-heralded Toyota Production System, which has helped Toyota dominate the industry, can facilitate strategic planning at your firm. Specifically, Toyota's approach can make your lawyers and staff feel less like a cog on an assembly line, and more like an integral, valued part of the team. The only problem is that incorporating TPS is about as "easy" as exercising, losing weight, and quitting smoking. But if you can do it, Bruce believes you can leave your competitors in the dust.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming May 27, 2008 to TechnoFeature: The Killer Legal App can place all your documents at your fingertips and at the fingertips of your colleagues. And not just word processing documents, but all documents, including email, faxes, scanned records, etc. And it can also boost the fees you collect. Of course, no such app exists. Or does it? In this provocative TechnoFeature article, Ross Kodner wonders whether the killer legal app already exists and has existed for more than 20 years. Can you spot the elephant in the server room?

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming May 20, 2008 to TechnoFeature: Almost every litigation matter involves email nowadays, so having a tool that can expeditiously and accurately search for relevant messages is a litigator's dream. In this article, legal technology consultant Brett Burney reviews Discovery Attender from Sherpa Software. The software aims to guide IT professionals through mountains of email, empowering them to filter out messages by keywords, date ranges, or specific addresses. Brett walks you through how the software works, and shares what he found helpful and what left him wanting more. Does Discovery Attender deserve a place in your litigation arsenal? Read Brett's review to find out.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.